Button-setting machine.



F. E. STANLEY & e. R. LEGGETT.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED gov. 13. m5.

Patented May16, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- F. E. STANLEY & G. R. LEGGETT.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 13,1915.

Patented May 16, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

F. E. STANLEY '&-G. R. LEGGETT;

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. 1915 laimnted May'16, 1916.

4 SHEETS--SHEET 3.

F. E. STANLEY G. R. LEGGETT.

BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

APPLlCATlON FlLED NOV.'l3, 1915.

1,183,823 Patented Ma 16,1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

46 68 &9 225 34 1 9r I 96 108 47 109 O FREDERICK E. STANLEY AND GEORGER. LEGGETT, or wmm a eommem,

ASSIGNORS T SC'OVILL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or WATERBURY, CoNNECr our, ACORPORATION or CONNECTICUT.

BUTTON-SETTING MACHINE.

Original application filed May 10, 1915, Serial No. 27,042. Divided andthis 1915. Serial No. 61,326; v

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK E. STAN- LEY and GEORGE R. LEGGETT,citizens of the Ilnited States, residing atWaterbury, in the county ofNew Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Button-Setting Machines, of which the following isa full,

clear,'and exact description.

Th1s invention relates to a power machine for setting tack fastenedbuttons on garments and other. articlesrapidly and accurately, and moreparticularly to mechanism forming a part of such a machine forpresenting the buttons in proper position and relation to the tacks forsetting the buttons on anarticle.

This case is divided out of our 'appl1ca tion for-patent for buttonsetting machines,

filed May 10, 1915, Serial No. 27,042, in accordance with therequirementof the Patent In all prior button setting machines-of thistype known to us, the buttons are presented to the setting mechanism bymeans of an inclined raceway down which they slide bottom-side up and inwhich theyv are,

righted by means ofa reverse, bend in the v raceway. But this method hasmany disadvantages, among which are the following,

viz.. that the-buttonssometimes jam in the raceway when they come to thereverse' curve; and that gravity being depended uponto right thebuttons, the feed isnot al-v ways rapid enough tomeetrthe requirementsof the machine; so that at times a tack. is

presented with no button to which to apply it.

The object of this invention is to provide mechanlcal means forrighting. the buttons which does not depend upon gravity except for theinitial presentation of the buttons to it from a chute or raceway inwhich the but: tons run bottom-side up and in a straight line, wherebythe above mentioned disad vantages of previous constructions are doneaway with and an increase in speed in the setting operation of themachine and the number of buttons thatmay be set per minute by themachine, is obtained.

The invention consists in whatwe will herein call a button turner?adapted to re Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916. application filed November 13} and to turn theminto proper position for appllcati'on of the tack to 'aflix the buttons.cei've the buttons edge up and one at a 'tii ne I from aracewayconnected with a hopper,

to the article to which they are to be applied,

and inmeans for driving. the parts, as we will proceed nowto explain andfinally claim. I

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention,- in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is afront elevation of a complete machine embodying the device of thisinvention. Fig. 2 is a left-hand side view of the upper-"part of themachine. Fig. 3 is ahorizonta-l section below the magazines or hop pers,on a larger scale. :Fig. 4 is a perspectlVe view of the: button-rightingdevice.

Fig. 5 is a: side elevation of part of the bearing" for the button.righting device open to.

gain access tosuch device. Fig-dis a per spective view of the buttonrighting cylinderan'd the'button ejector separated. Fig. v7- is averticalsection taken-to the right h (Fig. 1) ;of the-setting mechanismand on a larger scale. Fig. 8 is an inside elevation of thebuttonholder, and Fig. 9 is a side elevation of one of the two fingersof .the button holden, Fig. ;10-'i's'a sectional elevation of the tackholder and plunger. 11 is a vertical" section taken-.inthe plane of lineAB, Fig. 3, looking toward the right, but.

showing the parts in position when the button has been set. Fig. 12 isan edge view or for the purpose, among others, of running the machine athigh speed. The shaft 4 is provided with any suitable means preferably aband-pulley 7, for application of power by "means of a roundbelti8. ,The

shafts 3 and 4 are mounted in hearings in a head 9 erectedfon thebed-plate or table 1,

" and-the gear is arranged loosely upon its shaft 3 with any suitablefriction'or other 1 "clutch (not shown) interposed between the Y shaftand gear and operated by any suitable means to cause the gear to turnwith the "shaft, as by a lever pivoted on stud-shaft 11 mounted in boss12 on the head, andcon- -nected with a treadle 13 by a rod 14, but

other suitable means may be used for startingand' stopping the machineinstantly.

The driven parts of the machine derive motion from the main-shaft, aswill appear more fully in the progress of this'description, and we havefound that the high speed required and the necessary control of themachine'are best obtained by applying the power by what is commonlycalled a round belt not directly to the main-shaft 3 but to a drivingshaft 4, and gearing these shafts by a two to one or other desired trainof v gears 5, 6, the main shaft having the stop-- ping andstartingmechanism applied to it.

The button magazine or hopper 15 and the tack magazine or hopper 16 aremounted upon thehead in any suitable manner, and

j at any suitable angle, and so as to becapableof being turned to effectthe discharge of their contents. Preferably these magazines have theirshafts 17 and 18 respectively extended rearwardly and supplied withbandpulleys 19 and 20 respectively, which are fast on their shafts andare connected by the band 21, so as to turn in the same direction. Theshaft 17 is driven by a pulley 22 connected by a band 23 passing .overdirection idlers 24*and 25 to a driving pulley 26 on the main-shaft. Thepulley 22 is loose on shaftl'? and carries a pawl 27- which engages aratchet 28 fast onshaft 1'1. -The buttondriving pulley 22, soas toremove obstacles and provide for emergency filling, and the filling ofthe raceways leading from the magazines to the setting devices, wheneverthey become empty 'or insufficiently filled. The tack hopper may besecured to its shaft 7 in any suitable way to turn with it as de-'sired, and we haveshown a nut 32 as the means for retaining it upon itsshaft.

The buttons are discharged from the magazine into a raceway 33 dependingtherefrom, with their hubs outermost, and must be turned for settingpurposes, so as to present their hubs lowermost and vertically.

The lower end of thejraceway, is intercepted transversely by areciprocating cut-01f 34,

actuated by a rock-lever 35 pivoted on the head of themachine, aconnecting link 36', a spring 37 and a cam 38 on the main shaft,

to deliver one button at a time, and below this cut-off is an offsetraceway 39 which opens into a transversely arranged casing 40, in whichis arrangedthe button-turner that receives the button edgewise from theraceway and gives'it a quarter turn so as to present its hub verticallydownward. This turner comprises a cylindrical piece 41, having adiametrical opening or slot 42 at one end,.of a size suflicient toreceive the button edgewise, and it is provided with circumferentialspur-teeth 43 outside of the.

casing which are engaged by a toothed rack 44 on a longitudinallyreciprocating bar 45 mounted in the head of the machine at the rear ofthe turner and actuated by a cam" turner is turned with its openingvertical to recive a button edgewise from the race-way and then it isturned a quarter turn so as to move the button from a vertical to ahorizontal position with its hub down and in the position it must havein order to be set. The turner piece 41 is bored longitudinally and inthis bore is mounted a stem 49 having the transverse head 50 curved onits face to conform to the curvature of the rim of the button-head. Thestem projects out of the toothed end of the turner device and its headworks in the opening or slot 42. r The stem is provided with anadjustable grooved collar 51 which is engaged by a tracker pin on ashifter lever 52 pivoted on the head of the machine and having a camroller engaged by a cam 53' on the mainshaft, so that-When the machineis running the stem and its head will be given alongitudinalreciprocating movement in the turning device to eject the turned orrighted button therefrom, and because of this function the stem and itshead are herein referred to as an ejector. The cams 38 and 53 may be andare here shown as one structure. In order to obtain access to the turnerto remove a defective button and for other purposes, the bottom of thecasing is made with a hinged gate 54 provided with a pivoted spring orother effective latch 55 engaging a slotted keeper projection 56 on thecasing,-see Figs. 4, 5 and 7, for details. 7

. By means of the button-turner or buttonrighting device described, thepositioning of the button is removed from the uncertain automatic actionof the priorart raceways, to a certain and positively acting mechanism,with the result, among others, that the speed or capacity of the machineis greatly increased, and its operation attended by relatively fewmisplaced or improperly set buttons.

The buttons are delivered, one at a time, to the spring closed fingers57 ,mounted upon the side of the head and having their lower ends '58turned toward the turner last described. These fingers are hingedtogethertical anvilpassage, to form a pocket 61,- of

substantially the profile of the button, into which the buttons aresuccessively ejected by the ejector, and by means of this pocket thebutton is held in the fingers against the possibility as well ofmisplacement as of accidental displacement.- The fingers are held inlongitudinally sliding engagement with the head by a screw 62, the headof which is large enough to overlapthe fingers at their greatest lateralseparation in operation. The

upper portions of the fingers are cut away to form an intermediate slot63 and into this slot projects a pin 64 fast on the anvil. Above the pinis an adjustable spring adjusting device 65 on the fingers, to adjustthe finger-ends to the turner and take up any shock. The anvil 59 in itsdescent comes into contact with the finger-ends and carries said fingersdown'with it until said fingers reach the limit of their downward.movement, which is determined by the relation of the screw 62 to theslot 66 between the fingers in which it is arranged. The fingerends aremoved by the anvil into a position lower than that of the "turner, andthen the further descent'of the anvil and itsconsequent ejection of thebutton cams the fingers apart under resistance oftheir spring,

.the head so as to operate within the slot 66 to separate the fingerswhenever desired. When in thisposition the turner opening or slot 42 isin horizontal alinement with the pocket 61 in the finger-ends and theejector is in position to eject the button'from the turner into thepocket in the fingers.

Theanvil may be operated by any suitable means, such as abell-cranklever 68 mounted in the head and connected with the anvil by a link 69,:the lever 68 being actuated by a connecting rod 7 0 extending thencerearwardly and forked to straddle the main shaft and having a cam-roller71 engaged by a cam 72 fast on said main shaft which imparts a compoundlongitudinal and rising and falling motion tothe-connecting rod and arocking motion to the bell-crank lever 68.

The'tack magazine has a raceway 3 made with atwist so as to receive thetack heads on edge from the magazine and 'turn' the tacks point upbefore they reachthe cut-off 74. This cut-off has two fingers 7 5 havingtheir tips 76 extending toward one another across the raceway, and thesefingers are fast on a rock-leverv77 pivoted on the back. of theracewayand connected by. a rod 7 8 with a vibrating arm '7 9 pivoted at80 to the head and having a cam-roller 81 engaging a cam 82 fast on themain shaft. In order tofpre vent breaking of parts in the event ofjam-'- ming the raceway or cut-oif,the rod 78 has a. coil 83 formed init to serveas a spring which will yield under such jamming and thusprevent breaking any of the parts. The rock-lever 77 and its fingers 75may be returned to position by a spring 84: fastened to said lever byone end and to the head by the other. The tacks are delivered one by oneto a feed trough 85 arranged in the -head beneath and in line with theanvil, and in this feed trough is a tack ejector 86 of. the kind shownin the parent case referred to. This tack ejector is reciprocated in thefeedtrough by means of a bell-crank lever 87 pivoted on the machine headand having one arm connected by a link 88 with an upstanding lug 89 onthe ejector, and another arm provided with a cam-roller 90 engaging acam 91 fast on the main shaft. The tack ejector delivers the tack tofingers 92 pivoted to the head adjacent to the setting die or plunger93, these fingers being yieldingly connected, as by a bow spring 94. Astop 95 prevents the escape of the tack and also serves to position iton the plunger;

The plunger 93 is vertically reciprocated in the head and between theyielding fingers 92 by a bell-crank lever 96 pivotally mount ed in anextension of thehead beneath the bed-plate l, and connectedwith theplunger by link 97 and having a connecting rod 98 provided with a forkedend which straddles the main shaft and is provided with a cam roller 99engaged by a cam 100 fast on the mainshaft.

We have herein referred to. the cams 82,

'91 and-100 as though each were a separate structure, as they may be,but they,' are herein shown as combined in one structure. These andother details of construction and operative parts are variable at theleasure of the machine builder, so long ast e eflec tive cooperation andcoordination of parts are concerned and the principle of theinvention'followed. Again, it is to be. noted that we have. describedthe button turner'inbroad terms, in order to emphasize the'fact that wedo not wish to be considered as limiting our invention to details. Inthe drawings, however, one construction only is shown, and thisillustrates the cylindrical piece 41 as having a reduced portion 101next to the teeth43 and fitted in a sleeve 102 having a rear extension103 fixed to the back of the casing, as by screws 1. This cylindricalpiece is held in the casing and sleeve by the collar 105 fixed to thereduced portion 101 outside vthesleeve. The casing in this instance is apart of or attached to the lower end of the button raceway. The teeth 43may be cut in the piece 41 as shown, or other ,wise provided.

The operation would appear to be suiticiently indicated in and by theforegoing. However, it may be briefly stated that the respectivemagazines being supplied with ,buttons and tacks and the machinestarted, 'the buttons and tacks are fed one by one to their respectivedelivery points. The article to be supplied with buttons, represented atmomentarily beneath the anvil.

106, Fig. 14, is passedby the operator bethe tack and the .plunger iscaused to ascend and pass the tack point through the article and intothe combined anvil and filler 109 in the button wherein it is clenchedand the button so set. Then the parts reverse, the article is movedalong to a point where another button is to be attached, and theoperations repeated. The spring fingers 92 yield in the direction ofmovement of the article and thus offer no obstacle to the release of theset tack, but rather facilitate it.

As already 'sufliciently indicated, the invention contemplates suchchanges as will meet the requirements of the user, the kind or type ofbutton to be set, and the kind or type of tack or fastener.

The claims for the combination of the button supplying means, the tacksupplying means, and the mechanism for bringing the, buttons and tacksinto setting relation and for setting the buttons, form the subject ofthe parent application hereinabove mentioned, and the claims for themechanism 4ft; acting upon the tacks form the subject ofiour concurrentdivisional application of Leven flate, Serial No. 61,327.

"What We claim is 1. In a button setting machine, a buttonturner-adapted to receive the button from a suitable source of supply,means to turn over V sa-idturner and its contained button and therebypresent the button aright for the subsequent application of thefastening device, and an ejector mounted on the turner in permanentalinement with its discharge end for discharging the thus righted buttonfrom the turner.

2. In a button setting machine, a button turner adapted to receive thebutton from a suitable source of supply, means to turn over said turnerand its contained button and thereby present the button aright for thesubsequent application of the fastening device, and means carried by andoperating within the turner to eject said button from the turner.

3. In a button setting machine, the'combination with a button magazineand a raceway for conducting the buttons therefrom, of a rotaryreciprocating button turning device intercepting the raceway at itsdelivery end and adapted to turn the buttons one at a time rightside up,and a longitudinally reciprocating ejector carried by and operatingwithin the turner.

4. In a button setting machine, the combination of a magazine buttonfeed, including a delivery raceway in which the buttons feed edgewise,means to receive and right the buttons arranged transversely at thedelivery end of the raceway and including a cylinder having adiametricalopening at one end into which the buttons fall, spurteeth onthe cylinder, at toothed rack engaging said teeth to turn the cylinder aquarter turn to change the position of the button and means to actuatethe rack.

In a button setting machine, the combination of a magazine button feed,including a delivering raceway in which the buttons feed edgewise, meansto receive and right the buttons arranged transversely at the deliveryend of the raceway and including a cylinder having a diametrical openingat one end into which the buttons fall, spurteeth on the cylinder, atoothed rack engaging said teeth to turn the cylinder a quarter turn tochange the positionof the button, an ejector arranged in and carried bythe cylinder and having a head in the opening therein and a stemprojecting'outside of the cylinder, means to actuate the rack, and meansto reciprocate the ejector.

6. In a button setting machine, a button turner adapted to receive thebutton from a suitable source of supply,'means to turn over said turnerto right the button for subsequent presentation to the fastening device,

ofi' interposed between these raceways, a

casing arranged at the discharge end of the the shaft, a driving pulleyfast on the shaft,

and means interposed between the driven 15 pulley and the driving pulleyto effect the turning of the shaft at pleasure.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands this 10th day ofNovember A. D. 191.5.

FREDERICK E. STANLEY. GEORGE R. LEGGETT.

Witnesses:

PERCY WARNER, E. A. HYDE.

